78 people in a leaking boat ...

But what is the real risk to Australia from people arriving on our shores? The 1,800 people who have arrived on boats in the past two years pose precious little risk - other than perhaps a dangerous erosion in our international reputation if we do not treat them decently.

Rather the real risk to Australian standards of living and way of life comes from the excessive number (more than 600,000) of people who have come here as migrants in the past two years.

In the same week Prime Minister Kevin Rudd ordered the Australia Customs boat to take the 78 refugees to some hellish camp in Indonesia he said on the 7.30 Report: "I actually believe in a big Australia. I actually think it is good news that our population is growing. It is good for national security long-term. It is good for what we can sustain as a nation.”

He was expressing satisfaction with the prospect of an Australian population of 35 million in 40 years time. Even the business people at the big end of town who might profit financially from it will be worse off as the environment deteriorates.

Then just a few days later he told the Business Council of Australia: “We must now move forward to tackle the three key challenges of the future for our major cities: building productive cities - with efficient transport and communications networks; building affordable, liveable city communities; and building sustainable cities.”

How can the cities be more liveable, affordable or sustainable when they are turning into crowded, expensive, unworkable, horrible places to live with ever high water and energy costs because of too-high immigration? And this week public servants were told they would have to squeeze into less space because of the costs in our over-populated cities.

Most of the “challenges” Rudd cites could be overcome with a sensible population policy.

Instead we steal the few educated and trained people from the Third World and pander to business lobby for an ever higher population.

Australia’s immigration and population policies are riddled with inconsistency, long-term folly and inhumanity.

The only explanation is the government’s desire to keep the party coffers full and not to upset voters motivated by the worst visceral reaction to the plight of refugees - all driven by the distorting effect of what makes news.